The Lover: A Ballad - Lady Mary Wortley Montagu

"The Lover: A Ballad" by Lady Mary Wortley Montagu is a poem about a girl who wants to find a lover, a spouse. She really wants to find a man, but is unwilling to give herself to anyone. She wanted to find love, only marrying someone for love, not for other reasons common at this time period, such as status, and being cared for. She does not want to marry just anyone, she wants to marry the one.

"But I hate to be cheated, and never will buy/Long years of repentance for moments of joy,/Oh! was there a man (but where shall I find/Good sense and good nature so equally join'd?)/Would value his pleasure, contribute to mine"

She knows how bad life can be if you end up marrying someone you do not love. She wants a specific life and has expectations of what her life would be like with someone she truly loves.

"Let the friend and the lover be handsomely mixed,/ In whose tender bosom my soul might confide,/ Whose kindness can sooth me, whose counsel can guide." Women should marry who they want and should not be forced into relationships that are not based on love."

She will not give herself to anyone. If she does not love them or does not see them fit, she will not marry. She would rather be stuck alone than in a false relaionship.

"I never will share with the wanton coquette,/Or be caught by a vain affectation of wit./The toasters and songsters may try all their art,/But never shall enter the pass of my heart."